Stephanie Bizzeth is the acting program manager of the PLANS program. PLANS seeks to increase representation of African Nova Scotians in the health professions through recruitment and retention, community collaborations and partnerships to improve health outcomes within the African Nova Scotian community. PLANS offers programming, resources, and attends community and school events to provide health career support and preparation.

Nnamdi Chiekwe is the program assistant for PLANS. Nnamdi is in his third year of Therapeutic Recreation.

Indigenous Health in Medicine

Joe MacEachern

Joe MacEachern is the program manager of the Indigenous Health in Medicine (IHIM) program.
The Indigenous program seeks to increase representation of Indigenous students in medicine through recruitment, community collaboration and partnerships. It also advises the dean of medicine, to fulfill the social accountability mandate to the maritime Indigenous community. IHIM is preparing for the upcoming Kiptu Wise Health Science Camp where Indigenous youth spend their March Break learning about professions in the Faculties of Health, Dentistry and Medicine. To learn more about last years Kiptu Wise Health Science camp, click here.

Service Learning

Sarah Peddle

Sarah Peddle is the program manager of the Service Learning Program. The Service Learning program is available to pre-clerkship Undergraduate Medical students in both Halifax and DMNB campuses. The Service Learning Program includes preparation, orientation, community-based service learning experiences, student assessment and program evaluation. To read about student experiences in the Service Learning Program you can read more here. To learn more about the programs partnership with 211 Nova Scotia, a recent blog post by Mike Myette, 211 director, can be found here.

Written by: Mike Myette, Masters of Public Administration, Dalhousie University, Class of ‘08

Our community organization, 211 Nova Scotia was involved with Service Learning participants from Dalhousie’s Med 2 class in 2016 and 2017. 211 Nova Scotia exists to connect people in need with the human and social services that can help them. Supported with funding from the Province of Nova Scotia and the United Way, we maintain a province-wide database of thousands of services delivered by community groups, non-profits and government departments. We invite inquiries by phone (just dial 2-1-1), by email (help@ns.211.ca) through webchat (www.ns.211.ca) and by text (21167).

The novel thing about our database is that everything is organized by need, not by who offers the service. This makes it much easier to search and to find services. For those who prefer self-service, we offer a search portal on our website. During 2017, more than 200,000 Nova Scotians reached out to 211 for help through our various channels.

Our introduction to the Service Learning program took a somewhat circuitous route. In 2014 we worked with the college of family physicians in Nova Scotia to create an awareness program for practicing family doctors. The college recognized the fact that medical outcomes are improved when patients have access to social supports dealing with issues like poverty, housing, affordable medications etc. 211 helps both patients and their doctors access a broad range of support services with a single phone call or a few clicks of a mouse.

The college agreed to an outreach program to educate family physicians about the benefits of 211. Recognizing however that practicing physicians are a challenging group to educate simply because of how busy they are, it occurred to us that it might be more effective for us to reach out to medical students during their training. In early 2015, in my role as 211’s Executive Director, I contacted the Dean of Medicine at Dalhousie to pitch the idea of integrating awareness of 211 into the medical school curriculum and “voila” I was introduced to Sarah Peddle and the Service Learning class at Dalhousie Medical School.

The first Service Learning project in the fall of 2016 involved the creation of a 211 “webinar” that students could access through their e-learning platform. At the end of the term, students presented their projects and it was at this point that another twist of fate entered to assist us in our ultimate goal of integrating 211 into the medical school curriculum. The Service Learning student was unable to do his presentation so I was asked to present. By way of background to the presentation, I mentioned my initial pitch to the dean to get 211 awareness into the curriculum. Fortunately, faculty in attendance realized the benefits of 211 to medical training and they approached me afterwards to discuss this and this conversation put some wheels in motion.

The second Service Learning project, commenced in the fall of 2017, sought to extend awareness of 211 further into the medical community as the student eventually published an article in the Doctor’s Nova Scotia Magazine titled “ Is 211 included in your Prescription Regimen?”

For me, the true “icing on the cake” from service learning occurred prior to the article being published when in mid-2017; the student notified me that 211 awareness was now included in a Med2 lecture in a class titled “Professional Competencies”.

Our partnership with Dalhousie Medical School has truly generated significant returns by way of increased awareness of 211 service. It is our hope that in some small way, we will have contributed to enhancing both the lives of future physicians and their patients through the Service Learning experience.

Written by Matt Jalink, MSc Candidate in Community Health and Epidemiology

This past Wednesday the Dalhousie Global Health Office had our annual open house event to promote the different programs facilitated by our office and to recognize our community partners and research conducted in the field of global health. Our office operates on the mandate of social accountability, interprofessionalism, and ethical practice. The Dalhousie community had the opportunity to learn more about the programs offered through our office.

Our Service Learning Program lead by Sarah Peddle is an option available to second year medical students. Participating students are matched with a community-based partner organization that works with marginalized, underserved populations. They work collaboratively on a project that is deliverable, and relevant to the community partner and their clients.

Michelle Patrick is the program coordinator for the PLANS (Promoting Leadership in African Nova Scotians) program, which was established to support African Nova Scotians seeking a career in health, and to help create a health system representative of the community it serves. The PLANS program is multifaceted, offering one-on-one advising services, youth summer camp opportunities, and collaborates with the Health Association of African Canadians – Student Organization.

The Indigenous Health Program operating under Dalhousie’s Faculty of Medicine seeks to increase Indigenous student representation in medicine. The program is managed by Joe MacEachern, and is responsible for advising the Dean of Medicine to fulfill the social accountability mandate to the Atlantic province Indigenous community.

Said Msabaha manages international education experiences offered through the Global Health Office. These programs include course electives, internships, and research, and clinical placements for students in the faculties of Medicine, Health and Dentistry. The Global Health Office has a number of strong partner institutions across the globe, and also welcomes incoming students to Dalhousie from partner institutions.

The different student groups were also able to highlight their work, programs and opportunities available to students in health disciplines. Thanks to the Dal Med Global Health Initiative (GHI) and the Dalhousie School of Nursing Global Health Committee. We look forward to an involved, eventful year.

Written by Matt Jalink, MSc Candidate in Community Health and Epidemiology

In November 2016, I spoke with second year medical students (Andy Jin, Chad Purcell, and Sam Armstrong) who were about to begin their Service Learning Program experiences facilitated by the Dalhousie Global Health Office. The Service Learning Program is offered during the first two years of Undergraduate Medical Education at Dalhousie University. The program integrates community engagement concepts into classroom-based learning (Professional Competencies class) in their first year with an optional community-based project experience in their second year. The projects are designed in collaboration with community partners (including staff and people who use their services) and the university (students, staff and Faculty) to address a community-identified priority issue or gap in knowledge.

At the end of their experience, I met with these three students to hear about their Service Learning projects. Chad and Sam worked with Direction 180 and Mainline, two non-profit organizations in Halifax who implement harm reduction programs for people who use drugs. Chad and Sam, created a video to increase awareness of the emerging opioid treatment medication, Naloxone. Andy worked with RECAP , the Centre for Research, Education & Clinical Care of At-Risk Populations in Saint John.

Andy Jin

Chad, Sam and Andy found their Service Learning Program experiences to be positive, meaningful and fulfilling. The unique experiences the program offered allowed the students to see how curriculum concepts present in a real world context. All three noted that they felt privileged to have had this opportunity.

The preparation from the Global Health Office helped them feel prepared to work with the community organizations But they spoke about being overwhelmed with the complexity and wealth of information from the clients. The ability to select their project helped the student’s preparation, and the community partners were excellent at filling in the experiences from the populations that they work with on a daily basis.

Chad Purcell

The students had many positive experiences with their community partners. Sam and Chad enjoyed learning about Direction 180’s operations, and the vulnerable population they serve. Creating a video to highlight the realities of the opioid epidemic in Halifax and the life-saving treatment programs Direction 180 offer was rewarding. The goal of the video was to humanize the experience of addiction and educate the public about the potential health consequences and contributing factors to the use of drugs.

Andy greatly enjoyed forming new relationships with the wonderful staff at RECAP. The experience included the development of a financial mentoring program that aims to assist and support clients with their finances.

The challenging aspects of the students’ Service Learning program experiences were dependent on the nature of their project. Sam and Chad found some of the technical aspects of their video shooting challenging. Chad noted that with the help of the staff, the interviews with the patients went smoothly. Sam found editing their video to a reasonable length the most challenging due to ample footage.

Sam Armstrong (middle)

Partaking in the Service Learning program had an influence on the students’ professional development and future career path. Chad and Sam both noted that gaining insight into the lives of the patients that they will one day serve and learning first hand the extent of the opioid crises in Canada to be invaluable experiences towards their career development. Andy also found working directly with patients to be influential in his own career path, and has a greater interest in becoming involved with public health and policy.

I would like to thank Andy, Chad, and Sam for sharing their Service Learning Projects! They were very insightful, conscientious, and impactful for their communities. For more information on available experiences through the Service Learning Program on both Halifax and Saint John campuses, please visit The Service Learning Program’s webpage.

Written by Matt Jalink, Community Health & Epidemiology student at Dalhousie University

November 2016

Service Learning is a program that if offered during the first two years of Undergraduate Medical Education at Dalhousie University. The program integrates community engagement concepts into classroom-based learning (Professional Competencies class) in their first year with an optional community-based project experience in their second year. The projects are designed in collaboration with community partners (including staff and people who use their services) and the university (students, staff and Faculty) to address a community-identified issue or gap in knowledge.

Andy Jin, Sam Armstrong and Chad Purcell are second year Dalhousie Medical Students partaking in the service-learning program facilitated by the Dalhousie Global Health Office. Andy is based out of Dalhousie Medical School’s New Brunswick’s campus while Sam and Chad can be found on the Halifax campus. I sat down with Andy, one of the program’s student representatives with the Service Learning Leadership Team, as well as two part-time pharmacists Sam and Chad, to discuss their service learning projects for this upcoming year.

Tell us about yourselves and your pathway to Medicine

Andy: Many individuals have been influential in my decision to pursue medicine at Dal, but most important of all was my wife. As a Chinese national, she helped me to understand the poverty and the sufferings of many individuals in the world. Every step of the way, she was there right beside me, encouraging and inspiring me to look beyond our immediate surroundings for a greater good.

Chad: I grew up in Bedford, Nova Scotia and first started considering medicine as a career during junior high. High school helped solidify my interest in medicine, and I decided to attend Dalhousie upon graduation. After completing a BSc in Biology, I applied to both the medicine and pharmacy programs at Dalhousie and was accepted into pharmacy. I was still interested in medicine after finishing pharmacy, so I reapplied and was accepted into the Dalhousie Medicine class of 2019.

Sam: I also grew up in Bedford and after one year of undergraduate science was accepted into the Dalhousie Pharmacy program. Pharmacy gave me the opportunity to interact with patients in health-related setting, and I enjoyed the hands-on clinical care aspects of the program. The idea of acting as the coordinator of care and the wide range of opportunities medicine offers influenced me to pursue medicine here at Dalhousie.

Why did you choose to pursue the Service Learning Program?

Andy: The Service Learning program offered a unique opportunity for me to dive into the real world of medicine and learn about the needs of our community in an organized manner. I wanted to see the reality of health and medicine, not just in an artificial school environment. Also, the safety and feedback mechanisms that were incorporated into the SL (Service Learning) program gave me the assurance that this experience will be a valuable asset to not only my medical career, but also to my personal growth.

Sam: I saw it [the service learning program] as a good opportunity to become actively engaged in the community. It offers a structured framework for community service, and in this case, an avenue to advocate for underserved populations.

Chad: I was happy with the opportunity the Service Learning Program provided to become involved with the community. The creative component of the project also appealed to me.

What type of work will you be doing with our Service Learning partners?

Andy: The details of the project are yet to be finalized. I will most likely work on a Needle exchange program, a harm reduction intervention that intends to minimize and mitigate the harmful effects of substance abuse in individuals. Ultimately, I hope this will help to empower those clients to make everlasting changes that will improve their health and well being.

Chad + Sam: We will both be working with Direction 180, a community-based nonprofit organization operating on a harm reduction model. We are tasked with making video focused on increasing awareness of Naloxone, an anti-opioid medication critical in treating opioid overdose in an emergency situation. Heroin, fentanyl, and morphine are some common examples of opioid drugs. Naloxone blocks and counters the effects of opioids including slowed breathing, extreme drowsiness, and loss of consciousness. Our video will target the opioid-dependent population to raise awareness of the lifesaving treatment that is now available without prescription for emergency use.

What results are you hoping to achieve from this project? What you hope to gain from this experience yourself?

Andy: In a general sense, I hope to see an improvement of health and well being among the clients. Specifically, the needle exchange program can decrease transmission of communicable diseases, minimize overdosing, and reach the marginalized population. Realistically, it might not be possible to observe any tangible improvements, but a step towards the right direction is indeed one less step needed for a positive change. Some individuals in current society may not approve of harm reduction strategies, and I understand their concerns. However, the potential benefits of these programs cannot be ignored, and I want to obtain insights on how they can be better implemented to achieve a balance and maximize its strength.

Sam: Our primary goal for this video is to raise awareness of Naloxone’s availability to the opioid dependent population. It is vital that opioid users are aware and have access to this potentially life-saving emergency treatment option.

Chad: Working on this video project will allow us to gain a greater appreciation for the reasons and circumstances that led to the position that these individuals find themselves in. I hope to gain a sense of empathy for what opioid addiction and seeking treatment are like from their perspective.

What have you done to prepare yourself for your Service Learning Project?

Andy: In order to better prepare for the project, I am reading journal articles and publications around relevant topics, such as needle exchange program and substance abuse. For an effective intervention, however, a bottom-up approach is perhaps one of the most important aspects. Listening to the clients and identifying what their needs and wants. As such, my supervisor and I are trying to communicate with various stakeholders who are intimately connected to the clients. This may provide the opportunity for me to interact with the clients and identify effective strategies for the project.

Chad: Both Sam and I took a preparation course through Direction 180 about Naloxone and how to administer it.

Sam: We supplemented the course with reading some background info about Naloxone and the dosage form now available in the community. Going forward, Chad and I plan on meeting again with the Direction 180 staff to see how the video can best address the objectives of the project.

What about this opportunity excites you the most?

Andy: I am very excited about all the life lessons, collaborations, and the meaningful relationships that I can obtain through SL program. These experiences will help me to grow as a competent, compassionate health care professional that has positive impact on the individuals who are in need.

Sam: I’m looking forward to working with opioid dependent individuals to better understand living with opioid addiction in our community. I’m also curious as to the opioid-user’s perspective on Naloxone and their experience with the treatment.

Chad: I’m excited about being out interacting with the opioid dependent community, seeing what a day in their life entails. I am also interested in what Direction 180’s reaction to our video will be, and the impact it has on the community.

I would like to thank Andy, Sam and Chad for sharing their upcoming service learning projects, and I look forward to hearing more about their progress later in the term! If you are interested in learning more about the Service Learning program, please visit our Service Learning webpage.

During the final week of August 2016 I, and 108 of my new classmates, filed into the Sir Charles Tupper Medical building at Dalhousie University. The air was filled with nervousness and also excitement as we officially began our four year journey to becoming Medical Doctors. That first week was a whirlwind of presentations centred on important issues such as: financing our education, professionalism, ways to get involved in the school community and our new curriculum.

On my second day as a medical student I was pleasantly surprised that our program directors, in consultation with two student committees: Health Association of African Canadians-Student Organization and Medical Student Diversity and Inclusion Committee included a 90 minute session, presented by the Human Rights, Equity, and Harassment Prevention Office entitled, “The Elephant in the Room.” During my years as a pre-medical student I had heard about the changing landscape of medical education and medical practice. Specifically, I learned that there is a shifting focus within these spaces; from an exclusively biomedical focus to a perspective that is whole-person centred. I learned that the medical education system is working to acknowledge the importance of factors such as social determinants of health (e.g. culture, ethnicity and income) in improving the health of patients. “The Elephant in the Room,” was billed as a conversation series which would introduce my class to discussions surrounding diversity and inclusion.

2016 Elephant in the Room campaign poster

The inclusion of this workshop as a featured part of the second day of medical school helped to assure me that Dalhousie and the medical school is genuinely committed to training physicians who are aware of the importance of not only diversity, but also inclusion. As a Black Canadian with Nova Scotian and Caribbean heritage I have often found that I am one of the only Black women, or persons of color, in certain academic settings. One of the reasons that I chose to attend Dalhousie University for my medical training is their commitment to recruiting students from, and serving the health care needs of, this province’s under-represented groups (e.g. Aboriginal and African Nova Scotian) through programs like the Aboriginal Health Sciences Initiative and Promoting Leadership in health for African Nova Scotians or PLANS. In addition to this, the PLANS Program Manager, Michelle, supported me throughout my journey to medicine and has also created a supportive network where I can connect with other Black Canadians in medicine as well as Black physicians for mentorship.

The Elephant in the Room provided my classmates and I with a safe space to talk about issues that can, at times, be uncomfortable. For instance, how do the labels that those around us wear, impact our interactions? In what ways do we experience oppression or privilege in our own lives? How does inclusion relate to diversity? In my own educational experience, I have found that when these important conversations are not explicitly and safely introduced in the classroom the onus may fall on marginalized students to challenge stereotypes and to ensure that diverse perspectives are included in classroom discussions. I appreciate that we had the opportunity to begin having these dialogues early in our medical education journey; and I hope to see these conversations continue as I think that they are essential to ensuring that we take the best care of our future patients and our fellow classmates.

One final takeaway that I received from participating in the Elephant in the Room session was the importance of allyship. We learned that allies are people who recognize the unearned privilege that has been bestowed upon them by society and who work with marginalized groups to confront injustice. As future physicians, patient advocates, stewards of the healthcare system and as members of our community, I believe that it is essential that my classmates and I make a conscious, daily effort to be allies. We all must continually re-evaluate our privilege, continue to have important and sometimes difficult conversations and continue to build supportive relationships with the diverse populations that we aim to serve.

The Global Health Office has a busy month ahead. From celebrating global health leadership, to encouraging physical activity at Dalhousie, keeping reading if you’d like more information on our happenings!

A Celebration in Global Health Leadership

Tuesday May 31, 2016 @4-6pm

Collaborative Health Education Building (CHEB) Rm. 264

This evening will highlight global health leadership across Dalhousie University: from Local Global Health Elective students sharing their end of elective projects, to sharing the inspiring stories behind our Global Health Office Photo Contest submissions. We will also be celebrating our 2016 Advocates in Global Health certificate program graduates. Finally, learn more about what Promoting Leadership in Health for African Nova Scotians (PLANS), our international programs, and service learning have been up to! Light food and refreshments will be provided. To indicate your attendance, please RSVP with Eventbrite by May 27, 2016. For more information, check out the Facebook event.

We would like to invite you to join us for an active afternoon of bubble soccer. What is bubble soccer? Check out this YouTube clip, or the photo above, for a few good laughs! Take this opportunity to learn a new skill and have fun with your colleagues. The cost is $100 per team of 5-7 players, or $20 per individual (we will find you a team if you don’t have one). Contact the Global Health Office at gho@dal.ca to register. Extra funds collected/donated form the event will go to Dartmouth North Community Food Centre. The Food Centre offers a welcoming space where people can come together to grow, cook, share, and advocate for good food. The organization also acts as one of the partners in the new Service Learning Program at Dalhousie Medical School.

The MOSH van, which acts as a mobile treatment centre for underserved populations in the HRM (Source: GHO Blog, 2012).

Mobile Outreach Street Health (MOSH) has provided accessible primary care services to several underserved populations in the Halifax area since 2009: those who are homeless, insecurely housed and street involved. You may recognize the MOSH van (pictured above), which travels around the community acting as a mobile treatment centre. The MOSH website provides a comprehensive overview of their relationship-based care model, as well as their weekly schedule. In order to learn more about this amazing community organization, we interviewed Becky Marval, who works as an occupational therapist (OT) with MOSH.

How large is the population you serve?

The number of individuals who stayed in a homeless shelter in the Halifax Regional Municipality was 1,973 in 2011 [1]. However, not all those that MOSH serves are homeless, and MOSH does not serve the entire homeless population. According to a 2011 North End Community Health Centre program evaluation, MOSH had an average of 350-400 encounters per month [2].

You work as part of an interdisciplinary team. What members are on that team, and why do you think an interdisciplinary approach is important?

The core team has two full-time nurses, along with a part-time OT (Becky), a few part-time family physicians and part-time “jack-of-all-trades” administrative support. There is also a Housing First branch at MOSH, consisting of team lead EJ Davis and four intensive case managers, with support from an OT and a mental health outreach nurse through a partnership with the Nova Scotia Health Authority.

There are lots of reasons an interdisciplinary/transdisciplinary approach is important. One would be that the folks we’re seeing have complex needs that require different perspectives as well as different personalities. Relationship-based care requires that we have many different options for people, necessitating differences in personalities and skills. We are also able to share and learn from each other because of these different approaches. A transdisciplinary team has overlap and shared responsibilities that aren’t anyone’s job in particular, like handing out food or bus tickets. We also don’t have a social worker on the team, so wherever the scope permits, we stretch our scope as long as it can be ethically stretched in order to help the people we serve in terms of resource navigation. Having an interdisciplinary team allows us to do our work in a more holistic fashion.

What types of services do you provide as an Occupational Therapist with MOSH?

The types of services I provide are pretty broad. Occupational therapy is focused on allowing individuals to perform their activities of daily living (ADLs), like helping them take care of themselves or their apartment, assisting with mobility and transport, coping with chronic disease (both physical and addictions), and helping them find work or schooling. The focus on occupation can also mean helping individuals to determine meaningful things to do with their time, and how to adapt despite various challenges.

As previously mentioned, the role has to be broad because our team doesn’t have other specialist like a social worker or recreation therapist. Another piece of this work is helping to change the environment so it meets the needs of people. This can involve anything from working toward policy changes, to education around common topics that can be troublesome for staff that are trying to help clients, to building a ramp with limited resources to improve accessibility. There are a couple recent MOSH initiatives that benefit the population in innovative ways. The first is matching people with donated bikes, helmets and locks to facilitate mobility. The other is our history project, where people are encouraged to tell their stories. This provides a bit of a diving board for people to see themselves as experts and share their wisdom.

Have you partnered with Dalhousie University before? If so, in what capacity?

We have an established partnership with Dalhousie Dentistry as part of another partnership with the North End Clinic. This involves a dental clinic a few days per week where dental students come and practice under supervision. MOSH constantly has Dalhousie students from a variety of backgrounds doing work and service placements. A lot of student projects look for real life problems and situations, and MOSH can provide them with the opportunity to conduct program evaluations and literature reviews.

What do you think describes an effective partnership?

Aspects that are helpful include communication and mutual regard (respect, trust and awareness of strengths and weaknesses). Things that are not helpful include territoriality, guarding/protection of resources, and only looking out for oneself. Partnerships require similar philosophies, or at least the ability to arrive at a common ground or purpose. Finally, partnerships need to make sense for the target population. With MOSH that means achieving effectiveness with limited resources.

What do you find most rewarding about your work with MOSH?

I find it really rewarding when I’m surprised at how well things can work out. I shouldn’t be surprised anymore, but just when I think we’ve run out of options, it’s very rewarding to find out we have endless possibilities and options to consider! It makes me hopeful, and reminds me there’s no reason to ever give up.

All of us at the GHO would like to thank Becky for taking time out of her busy schedule to be interviewed! If you are interested in getting involved with MOSH by becoming a committed volunteer or by donating, their contact information is available online. For more information, you can also follow MOSH on Twitter.

Have you ever heard the saying “think global, act local?” This phrase was first used in the context of environmental challenges, however, it is becoming more and more relevant to the field of Global Health. Global health focuses on achieving health equity for all people, worldwide. Global health issues transcend national borders, and often impact those in our own communities. Therefore, we can begin to combat global issues by addressing them on a local scale.

The Dalhousie Global Health Office partners with a number of organizations in both Halifax and Saint John to provide a Local Global Health Elective program to first and second year medical students. The Local Global Health Elective is a half-year elective, which complements family medicine placements with community and social service organizations. This elective helps students develop a broad understanding of the health of socially marginalized groups in their own communities, and the services available to address their needs. The Dalhousie Global Health Office is also exploring building service learning opportunities to be launched in fall 2016. Stay tuned for more information about our exciting new Service Learning opportunities with UGME the coming months!

One of our newest partner organizations is the Dartmouth North Community Food Centre (CFC), a project of the Dartmouth Family Centre. The Dartmouth Family Centre is located in North Dartmouth, an under-served and high needs area: 13.5% of the population in this area is aged 65+, 31% of households are single-parents families, and 6.4% of the population are immigrants, a number that is expected to grow in coming years. The Dartmouth North CFC aims to increase the number of new entry points for families with young children, providing the community with a gathering space while expanding food access and skill-building opportunities. Community members come together to grow, cook, share and advocate for good food, through a variety of programs including a food distribution initiative, community kitchens and community gardens. You can learn more about how the Dartmouth North Family Centre combats local global health issues on their Website, Facebook or Twitter.

To learn more about our Local Global Health Elective opportunities, as well as our other offerings, check out our Website. As always, for information on our upcoming events, please check out our Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

This past Tuesday the Tupper Link was lined with posters and busy with faculty, residents and students; September 23rd marked this year’s Global Health Day. The event, hosted by the Global Health Office, provided an opportunity for students, residents, faculty and the community to share their experiences in global health research and education, and engage with others who share their passion. Thank you to all those who attended and made this year’s event a success!

Welcome to Global Health Day 2014

You could see and hear the enthusiasm in the room, with the excited chatter, eager gesturing, and cheerful smiles. Many of Dalhousie’s global health community and partners attended. Students from Occupational Therapy, Nursing, Medicine, Dentistry and Health Administration made their way around and in between the posters. Also in attendance was Dean of Medicine Dr. Tom Marrie and a special guest from Tanzania, Thecla Kohi.

The presented posters demonstrated the broad range of global health initiatives undertaken at Dalhousie. A group of Dalhousie students representing the Dalhousie Student-led Clinic Steering Committee presented their poster on Building a student-led, interprofessional community health initiative in Halifax, in which they highlighted their work on developing a student run clinic in our community. Research in Medicine students shared their work as well. For example, Emma Sumner’s poster was based on her work in the Evaluation of outcomes of a specialized seating program for children in a low resources setting.

Emma Sumner, Dalhousie Medicine New Brunswick (DMNB)

When it comes to the international facet of global health, international surgery and international anesthesia also presented. And of course, Dalhousie’s Global Health Office offered posters detailing a variety of student programs, including the Local Global Health Elective and Summer Programs with partners in The Ghambia and Tanzania, to name name a few. In addition, there was a poster for the Global Health Advocates Certificate, with a reminder that the application deadline is October 3rd. 2014!

Allan Kember, Dalhousie Medical student

A steady stream of visitors wove in and out of posters, lingered to network, and participated in the Global Health Day draw. This year’s winners were Chad Klassen and Megha Vatsya, each taking home a global health book (When People Come First: Critical Studies in Global Health). Participants and visitors were so engrossed in coversation, individuals stayed until the last poster board was taken down at the end of the session.